Harp and lyre..

We all want to praise God for all the good things with harp and lyre or simply with our mouth. God expects us to praise Him at all times. But there are times in our life when we are so immersed in confusion and fear that we forget to praise God. Sometimes we cross the limitation and start to grumble. But what we all truly forget is the verse “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” In different situation how we see God and respond to him is what matters the most.

Long forgotten Tambourine remembered.

Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all women followed her, with tambourine and dancing. (Exodus 15:20) 

Israel, a chosen nation of God. God brought them out of Egypt to praise Him. In fact, their excuse to Pharaoh to let them go was that they go and worship God in the desert. They were prepared to go to the desert. They were ready to take all the hardships in the desert and wanted to worship and please God. But as they reached the red sea and when they saw Pharaoh chasing them. They started to grumble. They grumbled instead of praising. As we know He made them cross the red sea and drowned Pharaoh in it. We too are like that we are ready to take all the hardships for Christ but as this hardship comes, we grumble. Even if we grumble our faithful God rescues us. When He rescues, we take our long-forgotten harp and lyre. It’s so much better if we always have our harp and lyre by our side.

Harp and lyre that hurt the most. 

David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. (2 Samuel 6:5) 

David King of Judah, or as the people say, ‘the sweet Psalmist of Israel’, knows how to use Harp and lyre in the best way. For harp and lyre were his best companions at the time of trouble. It was this companion ‘Harp and lyre’ that made him a Prophet and a King. After becoming the King of Israel, a man after God’s own heart decided to please the Heart of God. He thought to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. Instead of carrying it on the shoulders of Levites He made a bull cart to carry it. With harp and lyre, he heaped Praises to God. But when God’s anger burned against Uzzah, the procession came to an end. David returned to Jerusalem without the ark of God, but with anger and fear, he returned. Hastiness is the word for this situation. Hastiness to please God without knowing the whole scenario can be very fatal. One wrong step, all your celebrations will come to an end. Our intentions might be good, but the lack of knowledge can lead to disasters. We all want to serve God in first place, but as we draw closer there are many things, we need to be aware of. Hence, fulfill your task with extra caution for many blessings are awaiting you.

Hence, don’t always find reasons to play harp and lyre to praise God. Don’t wait for too long lest you grumble instead of praising. Know exactly how, and why to praise Him. Psalm 57:8 says “Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the Dawn.” With your harp and lyre turned the tides to your favor. For the harp and lyre can be found in plenty in the Quiver of God.